You started off by telling me that I'm the person everyone wants to be. You told me that I bring life into every room I walk into and that people crave my presence. You told me that I’m someone who leads, never follows. You expressed to me about how much I remind you of a younger version of yourself. But then, you said I use the influence I have on others in a negative way. You told me that I wasn’t the role model that anyone should look up to, especially those who are younger than me.

Let me rephrase that, you tried to tell me that I was a negative influence on others and you tried to tell me that I wasn’t a positive role model for people to look up to.

Like I said, you tried.

I want to make it clear that I’m not mad or upset. I’m not bitter over the words you said to me and I’m not angry with you, or the situation in general. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I respect you for being open, honest, and blunt with me. Free will and the freedom of speech are both precious gifts that God has given us, and it would be wrong for me to ever hate someone for taking advantage of any of God’s blessings. You have your opinion, I have mine, and the rest of the world has theirs. We’re all human and we are all allowed to think and feel however we want. You’re not a bad person, you just have a bad idea of who I am. I don’t know how you got it, but I can assure you that it’s okay to have it. You can think whatever you please because your opinion won’t stop me from being me.

But here are some things you don’t know.

You don’t know how many positive messages I receive from people that I hardly even know. Truthfully, some of them come from people from other states who have never met me but follow up on my articles that I write every week and the uplifting tweets that I post on a daily basis. You have no idea what problems and obstacles that people who don’t know me, but know of me, come to me with. You don’t know about all of the genuine, heartfelt messages I received once people got word of what you said to me. I could attach screenshots of all of the things I previously listed, but there’s no point in doing that. There is no point in allowing you to have access to some of the most sincere thoughts and words that I have ever received. I don’t need to boast about the things I’ve done for others, nor do I feel the need to give you a list of names of people who feel the opposite of you. I don’t have to prove anything to you, nor do I want to. It’s not my job to change your mind about me; It’s my job to keep doing what I believe God put me on this Earth to do, which doesn’t include pleasing you.

I want you to know that I did think long and hard about everything you said to me. I spent a lot of time self-reflecting and reaching out to other people, both young and old. I stared at myself in the mirror longer than a normal person should simply because I had never had anybody tear me down the way you did. But then, I built myself back up. I placed a sticky-note on my bedside table that reads, “SHE'S WRONG ABOUT YOU.” to remind myself every day that you do not have the power to tell me who I am, I do. I believe that what I think about is what I will become, which consists of nothing but positive vibes and upbeat energy. I am in control of my life, not you.

At the end of the day, I’d like to thank you. Thank you for teaching me that not everybody is going to like me. Thank you for showing me that, sometimes, it’s okay for people to think negatively of me because that is something that’s out of my control. Thank you for teaching me how to handle criticism. Thank you for teaching me how to be okay with someone not liking me. Thank you for informing me that, no matter how many people tell me one thing, there will always be someone who believes the opposite. I’d also like to thank you for the few compliments you did give me, even though they contradict with your criticism.

Thank you for making me a stronger person than I was before, because after all, sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will never hurt me.

xoxo

A Positive Influence